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Vancouver (or Vanhoover for the pony-inclined) is a city that’s special for its beautiful scenery, lively and diverse community, and bustling arts scene. On top of those qualities however, it is also where My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is produced at DHX Media/Vancouver by a crew of wonderfully talented directors, artists, musicians, and more! BronyCAN is very fortunate and honored to announce that we will have key staff from the show attending our convention this year, to talk about their work and share their experiences with the attendees!

Directors Jayson Thiessen and ‘Big’ Jim Miller will be attending BronyCAN to share their stories about supervising and directing the show from its humble beginnings, while Steph Mahoney (Layout Supervisor/Animator) and Christopher Leinonen (Layout/Posing Supervisor) will be around to answer questions about what it’s like to draw and animate the show! We will be gathering our honored guests from DHX to participate in a production panel to showcase the work that goes into the show like you’ve never seen or heard before!

Read more about them below:

Jayson Thiessen

Television Series Director / Co-Executive Producer / Animator

Jayson Thiessen was raised in western Canada on a healthy cartoon diet of Looney Tunes, Disney and 80’s Saturday morning shows. His love of the animated medium spawned a desperate desire to draw and create, filling numerous sketchbooks with silly cartoon ideas and characters. Ever since 1998, he has worked in the Vancouver animation industry starting as a classical animator, then transitioning to digital Flash animation and working his way up the ranks to become a Director. In 2009 he took on the role of Supervising Director for the latest incarnation of the Hasbro series, “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and applied his complete love and attention towards the show, which went on to become a runaway cult sensation around the world. In 2012, Jayson directed the spinoff My Little Pony movie; “Equestria Girls” which debuted at the LA film festival in 2013. He was later elevated to Co-Executive Producer on the series and continues to direct the latest season. He also appears as a guest speaker at various fan and industry conventions, where he talks about his experiences and expertise in animation production and directing.

Big Jim Miller

Co-Director

Big Jim Miller is a storyboard artist, cartoonist, director and improvisor living in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He has worked primarily as a storyboard artist, most notably for 10 years at a.k.a. Cartoon Inc. on Cartoon Network’s ‘Ed, Edd n’ Eddy’, where he was a part of all 5 seasons, the 3 holiday specials and the tv movie. He has also done storyboard work on ‘Kid Vs. Kat’, Capcom’s 'Dead Rising 3’ and the Hub’s ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”. After starting on MLP, he has since moved on to storyboard supervising seasons 2 and 3 of that series, as well as the 'Equestria Girls’ direct to DVD movie. Season 4 of MLP saw Jim promoted to co-director, episodes of which are currently airing on the Hub Network. You can also see his work on the comic strip ‘Mystery: Solved!’ available bi-monthly in Skeptical Inquirer magazine.

Stephanie Mahoney

Layout Supervisor/Animator

Steph has been in the animation industry for 9 years. She’s had the privilege to work on shows such as Atomic Betty, Ruby Gloom, Kid vs. Kat, Pound Puppies and of course My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She has been at DHX Media since 2008. When she heard about the possibility of working on MLP, she pestered Jayson until she was locked into animating on Season 1. On Seasons 2 and 3 she was in the Layout/Posing department. In Season 4 she went on to supervise Layout/Posing.

Steph has been an avid Con-goer and cosplayer for 14 years but this will be her first appearance as a guest.

Christopher Leinonen

Layout/Posing Supervisor

Christopher has been in the animation biz since 2007, and at DHX since 2008 (back when it was Studio . He started on Season 1 of MLP as a Layout/Posing Artist, and was a Layout/Posing Supervisor on Seasons 2 and 4. Other shows he’s worked on include “Kid vs Kat” and “Packages from Planet X”. When not ponying or engaging in armchair radicalism, he sometimes makes comics with the Cloudscape Comics Society (www.cloudscapecomics.com), a group of independent Vancouver comic artists. His work has been published in four of their annual anthologies.

Please don’t forget to book your rooms at the convention hotel, the Executive Airport Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre, as we are filling up the room block very quickly! Use the promo code “BronyCAN” and you can book a room at a reduced rate, as well as free parking each night, high-speed Wi-Fi internet, and access to the airport shuttle. Book alone or with your friends/family, and you’ll be right where all the fun is!